Security guards working at the facility in the Shanxi province in northern China are wearing riot helmets and holding plastic shields as they march around the plant, Bloomberg is reporting. The workers, meanwhile, are cranking out products.

"The guards here use gangster style to manage," Fang Zhongyang, a Foxconn employee, told Bloomberg in an interview. "We are not against following rules but you have to tell us why. They won't explain things and we feel like we cannot communicate with them."

Just yesterday, Foxconn said in a statement that it will "ensure its duties relating to employee welfare are implemented and it will make overtime payments as promised."

Foxconn has come under fire for working conditions across its many factories. Earlier this year, the Fair Labor Association investigated Foxconn's facilities at Apple's request, and found that the company in some cases failed to provide adequate overtime pay and forced employees to work excessive hours. Foxconn has pledged to address the Fair Labor Association's concerns and has implemented some programs to improve working conditions.

CNET has contacted Foxconn for comment on the Bloomberg report. We will update this story when we have more information.

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Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
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